He broke the drought at the 7:18 mark on a pass from Chris Tierney that beat Matt Murray and sent the Shark Tank into hysterics. “This was good time to get it in”. He praised the San Jose Sharks’ defence, said he needed to shoot more and believes a breakout game is coming.
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Coach Peter DeBoer confirmed Hertl’s absence Monday afternoon, but offered little in the way of an update. “We’ve been playing from behind too often in the series”. “Now we have to take care of business moving forward”.
Saturday night’s win was huge, obviously, even if the game-winner came from a rookie named Joonas who hails from a far-off Nordic land.
DeBoer had called timeout just before the goal so he could keep it first line on the ice.
Joel Ward tied the score at 2 at 8:48 of the third period for the Sharks, who were outshot yet again in Game 3, 42-26. Kris Letang pinched up and Logan Couture played the puck off the left boards and had a two on one with Joe Thornton and Couture’s shot went off the far post.
Hertl had a career-high 46 points during the regular season, and DeBoer said he was arguably the Sharks best player in the first two games of the final.
Ben Lovejoy scored and assisted on Patric Hornqvist’s goal that gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead heading into the third period But Matt Murray let Ward’s tying goal in off his glove and then allowed the victor as Pittsburgh lost for the second time in 51 games when leading after two periods this season.
Even though the overtime victor probably wasn’t a great play on his part, the worst goal game late in the third period just as the Penguins were successfully killing off a four-minute high sticking penalty to Nick Bonino when Joel Ward tied the game on a shot that absolutely has to be stopped.
Are you counting on Letang to have another very bad performance this series as he did in Game 3 or Crosby – who has been spectacular – to make such a terrible decision in such a moment of effect? Thornton assisted on the tally midway through the first. He scored the Sharks’ only goal in Game 2.
This story has been updated with quotes and additional material from the Sharks dressing room at SAP Center in San Jose.
Murray made a couple strong stops in overtime, including on Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. It is already the second time in this series he has had to face at least 40 shots in a single game.
It was the third straight one-goal game to open the Final. “Nothing changes for me”.
When the Sharks are establishing their forecheck, the Penguins are collapsing around the net, keeping on the puck on the perimeter.
DeBoer noted San Jose’s forward depth allows him to move parts around. San Jose needs to start this game fast and harness some of the energy from the crowd as they will be in deep if they fall behind early. We should get the puck to the net more.
Pittsburgh’s first goal of the evening – a Ben Lovejoy wrister that snuck past Jones behind Matt Cullen’s screen – came amid of a seven-shot barrage that preceded Sharks’ first official attempt at the net. The Sharks appeared energized by the chippiness and brutalized the Pens over the next stretch, generating a power-play chance along the way.
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One of the factors limiting Pavelski’s effectiveness has been Pittsburgh’s propensity to block shots. It may seem obvious which players to zero in on in the fourth contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks, but there are a few extra players who should garner attention. “A lot of other guys have done a lot of heavy lifting to get us here”. “We’re going to talk about that”.
